Try deactivating the laptop and reactivating the desktop as a test.
Bob
The problem is the laptop is not activated yet and I dont want to de-activate the desktop in case it can not be reactivated.
Just tried the laptop again and it is still reporting too many activations 🙁
and I dont want to de-activate the desktop in case it can not be reactivated.
don’t do it on the weekend. not sure if customer support is there to help you if you need it! wait until monday!!!
There was another post earlier about the activation server being unavailable. Could be there is a problem. If so, not a good time for it to go down on a weekend after a new release of PS. The need for a 24/7 manned service remains.
No theres nobody there apart from the automated recording saying they are closed and to call back between 9 and 5 on Monday.
With all the other good stuff in CS2 its a pity we are still saddled with activation/re-activation.
Mick,
I expect this must a busy weekend for activation many who got their software during the week have probably left it to the weekend when they have more free time just as I did with the laptop.
it wouldn’t be a pity if it just worked. the jury’s still out, apparently…
Agree. It’s the one thing I find disturbing about Adobe’s attitude. I don’t mind activation but I would hate to be caught out like you are now. It would not be outrageously expensive to have a 24/7 backup service for these situations. As said before, if Microsoft can do it and they do, then why not Adobe – a company that has a much stronger tradition in customer care than Microsoft – viz the strong presence of the developers here.
Well just found out what is causing the re-activation problems on the desktop When I start Acrobat 7 (installed as part of CS2 Premium) I get the detected hardware change reactivate message
. This does not look good 🙁
David,
Is that on your laptop or desktop?
Also, is Photoshop part of CS2 suite or stand alone?
automated recording saying they are closed and to call back between 9 and 5 on Monday.
Hope for your sake this means Adobe UK are working on the Bank Holiday!!
Ian,
The re-activation requests are on the desktop PC triggered by opening Acrobat 7.0 the odd thing is it does not happen immediately, usually after Acrobat has been open for a minute or so.
Photoshop is part of Creative Suite Premium 2, an upgrade from Creative Suite Premium 1 which I still have installed. I removed Acrobat 6 before installing CS2 (it says that previous versions of Acrobat should be removed) after looking in the Acrobat forum I have tried setting the Adobe LM service to start automatically but it does not help nor does installing the Acrobat 7.01 update.
I will try using the add/remove programs the remove Acrobat 7 and also see if I should have used add/remove programs for CS1 to remove Acrobat 6 but as it showed as a separate application in the control panel list I just removed it from that.
Obviously I am bit reluctant to do too much until Monday when hopefully I can contact Adobe and get the copy on the laptop activated.
Glad to see that Adobe fixed theproblems with activation, wouldn’t want to inconvenience its customers.
Of course, the big problem remains also of how Adobe has provided no grace period if a reactivation is prompted, whether that occurs for expected reasons or random problems. Anyone away from access to a phone or the internet will find themselves with immediate loss of use of PS CS2. I just hope no professionals plan to use PS CS2 when out in the field at some remote location. If they do, they better be prepared with a dual installation of an earlier version of PS or an alternative solution.
I find it astonishing that David has the audacity to post this complaint. Activation works perfectly well. If he is having a problem with it he either has a pirated version or a completely useless computer. Oh, I forgot, he may also just be an idiot.
David, read the posts here concerning Activation. You will see that anyone who has a complaint matching yours always receives the same answer: No one ever has trouble with Activation. I mean really, if the problem was factual in CS1 dont you think it wound have been corrected in SC2? They dont need to correct the problem because it simply does not exist.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt.. You may not have an illegal version, you may not be an idiot, and you may have a properly operating computer. Which leads me to think you may need a mental health specialist, because you must be imagining this REactivation problem.
And why are you working on the weekend? If people worked on the weekends someone would be answering your calls to Adobe. What is wrong with you?
What is wrong with you?
Something I might just ask of you. Nobody in this thread has accused anyone of anything and most posts have been an attempt to either help or advise the OP not to do anything until regular business hours.
Bob
Robert,
In this thread is correct. However, please note that I have followed MANY threads complaining about Activation. And the replies have usually been that Activation problems were caused only by illegal versions, faulty computers or user ignorance. Adobe has NEVER been admitted that the Activation is not done properly by them. If Activation worked properly, we would not NEED to call Adobe on the weekends. I dont intend to debate this with you since I know, from other threads, that it is a hopeless cause. Adobe simply does not care.
Windows activation works much better that does activation by Adobe. Adobe should be proud.
I LOVE PHOTOSHOP, I dont mind activation, I hate REactivation.
Photoshop forces us to REactivate for no apparent reason. Hardware change, for instance. WHAT change?
There are times that I cant use a software program that I have invested around a thousand dollars in. That makes me unhappy. That is whats wrong with me.
Peace
Robert,
Please let me add a few thoughts. First and foremost, nothing against you and no insult intended. Ill try to make this as brief as possible.
Point one: I truly do love Photoshop. I have been using it since version 5. It was a pirated version which I used for about two months. I then purchased Version 5.5 which was the full legal version and I have purchased every upgrade since. My point being that I believe Photoshop is a GREAT program and I am a legal user.
Extending on point one. After may years of using film, I am making the complete change to digital. For me, this would not be possible without Photoshop. It has saved my butt more than once. Also I make a portion of my income by doing restorations. Needlessly to say, this would not be possible without Photoshop. Again, I LOVE PHOTOSHOP.
Point two: I believe that Adobe has EVERY right to protect their product against piracy. However, it should not be at the connivance of their legal customers. My example is the use of Go Back. This is a program that I have used many times, until I had problems concerning it and Photoshop. They are not compatible and Photoshop is the ONLY program that has caused me this grief. And that upsets me because I spend many hours a day using Photoshop. I spend more time with Photoshop than I do with my wife. I cant make it any easier to understand than that.
And please, you have to admit that that if I have not had to Reactivate Windows one time, but I had to REactivate Photoshop three times, something is not right.
Foremost, and above all. I love Photoshop.
Peace,
Q
Besides, if I am understanding Q’s original post, it’s said to the OP with tongue in cheek. I didn’t really get the feeling that he was attacking the OP, simply making sarcastic remarks about REactivation and how it has pained legit users in the past, and for the OP, is paining him currently.
just my $0.02,
grasshopper
If you already have CS1 installed and are about to install CS2, are you better off to uninstall CS1 first to avoid activation issues, or is it OK to leave CS1 and also install CS2. I’m still waiting for my copy of CS2 so was just wondering if there’s a preference.
It’s safe to leave CS installed when installing CS2. They use somewhat different activation methods, apparently.
You will probably be asked to reactivate CS first time you use it after the install. Painless as usual in my case but then the activation server wasn’t down at the time.
Grass Hopper,
Thank you. Your $0.02 was right on the money. You are very wise, Grass Hopper…
Just to clear a few points up:-
1. I did realise Q Photos post was tongue in cheek.
2. My copy of CS2 is legal I have been using Photoshop since PS4 and this is the first problem I have had.
3. There is no need to re-activate CS1 after installing CS2 they work happily side by side.
4. I know this because of the problems Im having with Acrobat 7 on the desktop it continually asks to be activated when I start it (Im using CS2 Premium and upgrade from CS1 premium. Because of the problems with Acrobat I have had to uninstall it and re-install Acrobat 6 from CS1 (again no need to reactivate CS1) I assume this is what used up all my cativationss. I have posted in a thread on the subject on the Acrobat forum. It seems I am not alone with the Acrobat 7 problem apparently no solution from Adobe yet 🙁
5. Trying to activate CS2 on the laptop I now get Activation Server Unavailable I will try it again and then try to activate over the phone.
My advice is DO NOT uninstall CS1 yet.
No luck with the activation server over the internet so I phoned. Good News
CS2 no activated on the laptop, the Adobe representative said that there were 7 activation attempts logged against my serial number (thanks Acrobat 🙁 )
The bad news
The Adobe representative said if I needed to re-activate I would now probably have to do it over the phone and explain again why all the multiple activation attempts. Not happy about that 🙁
Q,
I too realized that your post was toungue in cheek, but this forum is littered with those types of threads from CS1. I don’t want to see it happen again.
David,
I’m glad you got it straightened out.
Bob
I’m glad you got it straightened out.
He didn’t actually get it ‘straightened out’. Apparently there is something very wrong with this new activation/reactivation scheme, evenmore so then the first attempt at activation with CS. This is enough to give pause to any professionals that regularly work on weekends. Weekends are when I get the crunch work done on my jobs for my newspaper’s monday morning deadline. I know I would be put out if Photoshop stopped working on a Friday evening and I had to wait until Monday morning to reactivate, so that I could explain to the helpful Adobe customer service rep why I was trying to use a program that I paid $600 for.
You don’t know that. And before you say anything, I don’t either.
But he did admit to a bunch of activation attempts and Adobe said it was
7. Now, if he had some type of problem on his system that caused it,
it’s not Adobe’s fault.
If it wasn’t his system, then yes, there’s some type of problem here.
Bob
Well it looks I’ll be sticking with v7 for awhile. Hopefully this activation thing will straighten itself out when they merge with MM, they got it right.
From what I’ve heard so far, this is just plain ol’ stupid.
Bob,
I resepct you for your knowledge and dedication in this forum, so don’t think I am attacking you. Your expertise dwarfs mine. But sometimes you are so blindly allegiant to Adobe that you miss the obvious.
Even if it was something with his system, the problems seem to be too prevalent. I need my software to work properly even if my system is not 100% pristine and perfect. After I struggle to fix a not perfect system in order to get on with business the last thing I would need is the hassle of now dealing with a program that I need failing to work until I go through more acrobatics. My computers cause me enough grief and aggravation, the last thing I need, and I assume this goes for other users, is aggravation caused by poor implementation of activation/reactivation, etc.
peace,
carl
The bunch of activation attempts were due to me trying to print a PDF and having to re-activate each time I started Acrobat.
The desktop and the laptop are both fully patched XP Pro SP2 with Microsoft Office Pro 2003 and Norton Anti-Virus 2005 installed. Now that I have to laptop activated Acrobat 7 appears to be ok. So my guess is that the hardware configuration of the desktop is the problem. A dual Athlon with 3 SCSI drive (total 4 partitions) + a firewire drive permanently connected. This hardware has been running CS1 with no problem since its release.
The laptop is an Acer 804LCi with its hard drive partitioned as C and D with D basically holding the recovery information/files.
On the whole Im impressed with CS2 so far but
. Adobe must get a handle on the activation issues I have had to re-activate CS1 several times after system restores the hardware has not changed since I installed CS1 none of the other software I have which uses activation Microsoft OS and Office, and now Norton have ever requested re-activation. Adobes implementation of activation is just too flaky. Other software companies manage to have a reliable robust product activation why not Adobe?
Isn’t there a 30-day activation grace period?
There is a 30 day grace period before you activate once activated if it requests re-activation and fails the software shuts down.
I learned from CS1 that Adobe doesn’t care about the customer, just the customer’s money. I still think that the two are tied together, and in time, Adobe will find this out… or at least they should. I’ve decided to not purchase Adobe products again due to their attitude.
As I’ve pointed out in the past, many large companies have felt they owe nothing to their customers. I used American automobile manufacturers of the 80’s as an example. Did anyone beside me read that GM lost over a billion dollars in the first quarter of this year?
As for CS2, could it be that there are STILL activation/re-activation issues with Adobe software? If so, I’m quite glad I’m holding at CS1.
I agree with Q Photo. PS is great and activation isn’t. Further, I feel any company that ignores it’s customers doesn’t deserve their customers.
Carl,
It’s fine, really. And with every release of Photoshop, my knowlege seems to dwindle. I’m not arguing. All I’m saying is that this is a new release and we should wait to see what the end result is.
It could well be an Adobe issue. I just don’t like jumping to conclusions.
Bob
I learned from CS1 that Adobe doesn’t care about the customer
Again, I’m not saying that something isn’t broken, but one look at who’s posting here and answering questions is enough to convince me that Adobe does indeed care.
Find me one other company that has this type of participation in its forums.
Bob
Bob, it was you that lead me think in an earlier post that Adobe doesn’t care about the word on the street (customers), that they only care about Wall St.
Wall St. isn’t the customer, it’s the investors.
Here’s a question for the folks at Adobe. When will the flaky activation/re-activation scheme of CS1 be fixed so that there are no folk locked out of their expensive software programs.
Too difficult for them to answer? How about this one then? When will Adobe publicly admit there have been issues with the activation/re-activation scheme, and admit that people have been denied the right to use their program, and then apologize to the customers?
To all,
I told myself that I would not get involved with anymore discussions, or posts, about Adobes REactivation because it has proven to be such a lost cause. I have made every attempt to state my thoughts in a civil and comprehensible way. All to no avail. The couple of times that I thought that I had stated everything in a very clear fashion that made complete sense I received no response from anyone, connected with Adobe, in this forum.
If I was the only one complaining I really could not expect a reply. However, there have been so many knowledgeable people that have agreed with me. Or, to be more precise, I have agreed with them. Those people know who you are because I have mentioned you so many times in the past. You all have my deepest respect.
For about the tenth time, I truly love Photoshop. I actually believe that it has improved my photography. At the very least, it allows me to correct most of my photographic mistakes. Just as photography has been a driving force in MY LIFE, so is Photoshop. It has now become how I make my living and it is also my hobby. This all means that I think Adobe has provided a wonderful program. It is truly amazing what can be accomplished by using it.
I have purchased every upgrade since 5.0. Im not a photographer for wealthy clients, which means that I dont make a big income from my photography. Basically, I do photography (mostly weddings) for the blue collar class, of which I am proud to count myself a member of. Like other members of this class, when I spend $150.00 to $600.00, I expect to receive something that works when I need it. I also do not think that I should be ignored when I have made a valid point.
Time to cut to the chase: If Adobe can present us with such wonderful photographic correction and manipulation software, why can they not come up with a better way for implementing activation? I find it impossible to believe that CS2 does not contain a fix for this problem after all of the complaints about it in CS1.
I would like to say that this is my final statement about the this subject, but that probably will not be the case. I think that prejudice is wrong so I never hesitate to speak out against it. I think that war for oil is wrong, so I say so. I think that Adobes policy is also wrong and I cant understand why they cant see that.
Peace,
Q.
Q: That’s why they’re buying MM, they couldn’t afford MS and both know how to do implement activation properly.
I’ll stick with v7 and use Nikon Capture for RAW/NEF correction.
All those great additions are worthless if you can’t use them when you need to.
I second that. For the moment, PS7 provides all that I need and more.
As tough they are favorite whipping boys, only the legit users of Photoshop CS and CS2 are harrassed by activation. Just ask your friendly neighborhood geek how he activated his tryout version into full version by phone and was never again bothered by reactivation.
Thanks Q Photo, ID. Awe, nukes, and all the others who understand my frustration over the activation/re-activation thing.
Discussing it here will never fix the problem but it helps to know that I’m not the only one who sees it as a problem, as Adobe would have me believe. I find a small consolation in the fact that others also refuse to upgrade knowing Adobe doesn’t care about it’s customers.
As for the blue-collar thing, many men here at work wear a tie, most others wear button down shirts and dress pants. For the 27+ years I’ve been here I’ve worn pull-over shirts, jeans and sneaks. So I consider myself a blue-collar kind of guy.
I’ve found most of the blue-collar crowd have a true sense of ethics and values. A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. If you have a problem with the product you create, you fix it as soon as possible and apologize to your customer for any inconvenience. By doing this, you keep his trust, his repeat business, and your bottom line in the black.
Maybe Adobe needs a few blue-collar guys in their decision making process.
As for the war for oil thing… don’t get me started. We have to have all those boys over there. After all, someone has to box up all those WMDs right? 😉
Thomas,
There are many people that share our frustration concerning REactivation. Among these people are those that are the most willing to offer assistance here to those that need advice. Therefore; I consider them the most knowledgeable pertaining to Photoshop. These people are, like myself, among the first to defend Photoshop against unreasonable criticism. They, you and I all share the same love of Photoshop.
This is why I used the Blue Collar analogy:
In one thread about REactivation it was stated, by an Adobe connected person, that Activation works well for MOST users. I compared this to the trade that I was employed in for quite a number of years. That would be the auto-body collision and paint repair trade. My point is that I could not be content with making the majority of my customers satisfied, I had to make all of them satisfied. I could not expect a customer to accept a poor repair on his car simply because the customer that came before him was satisfied. I took pride in my work and had very few do-overs. And the few that I did have to do over, I could not charge more and call it an up-grade.
Sidebar:
I think it best that we not get political in the forum, but it appears that we share views. At the same time, Ill say that I admire your form of sarcasm.
Peace,
Q
Peace, Q
Just mind your Peace and Qs!
OK, someone said it already 🙁
you can’t activate a tryout version to a full version, unless you have a pirated hack.
my questions is thus:
Does the Mac platform CS2 have activation?
yes you can’t activate a tryout unless it’s hacked, or yes the mac now has activation?!! 🙂
The Mac versions of all CS apps require activation.
And I thought I saw a few mentions of the demo having a place for a serial number to activate it. So I’ll hold off on answering that right now.
Bob
If by hacked you mean a copy of PSCS2 that’s been in the garage and reverse-engineered, I think you’re wrong dave.
Just for the sake of curiosity, I asked my friend how he activated his copy of PSCS2. He showed me but I’d rather not be more specific. I’ve seen the procedure. Yes, the pristine PSCS2 tryout for public download which share the same installer as the full version can be activated. He simply entered all the right number combinations the installation wanted, if you get my drift.
So the activation scheme remains a pain in the neck ONLY for legit users for this version of Photoshop.
Mac has activation. I don’t recall ever seeing a facility to convert the Mac Tryout into the Retail version like we have on the Windows Tryout
He simply entered all the right number combinations the installation wanted, if you get my drift.
yes he’s a pirate and he used a keygen. bad boy. already, though? hmm… been out about a week now. that’s about right. seems cs was cracked in about the same time.
whoo hoo! ain’t activation working great people?!!
Dave,
Yes, activation is working great. Unless you are legal user. Adobe seems to be continuing with their tradition of offering us the very best in photographic software (Its almost magical) and the most ridicules form of activation that causes us honest people nothing but problems. So help me, I just dont get what Adobes thinking can be.
John Joslin,
Peace & Qs and Ps & Qs.
Puns are thought of as the lowest form of humor. I never really thought that to be true. That was funny. Thanks.
Ps,
Q
It’s interesting that pirates have already circumvented activation just a week or so into this, and honest PS users have to deal with activation/re-activation issues forever.
Q, it doesn’t matter if the wind is blowing from the west because a cold front from the north could probably cause problems too. I don’t know for sure because I don’t have CS2 and won’t buy it. Nor will I buy CS3, 4, and so on. Besides, if I can catch that Elvis marathon on TV I might not want to use PS anyway.
I too, don’t understand Adobe’s customer-retention logic. Here at work we are constantly reminded "Customer focus, customer satisfaction". This past quarter we AGAIN exceeded sales and backlog records.
With Adobe’s uncaring attitude, they’re not only creating unhappy customers, but un-customers. Can they really not understand that when they alienate a customer, it’s not just for one version, but for all the succeding versions? Further, it may be for any product they manufacture, not just the flaky one.
The bottom line here is that Adobe has a moral duty to its customers to put in a failsafe system so that no legitimate user is ever locked out of the program. All this would need is to employ a few extra people to man the phone lines 24/7 which would have very little financial impact on the company. Adobe is clearly failing its customers in this regard.
This is not a criticism of the developers who come on this forum (in their own time?) but corporately Adobe is to blame for not putting a safety net in place to protect those who have paid for the program.
So why can Adobe afford to disregard the wishes of its customers? I would suggest that it can do this because it has no real competition simply because Photoshop is so superior to anything else on the market. I find this sad because, like the others who have expressed similar views, I love Photoshop and I have upgraded to CS2 already. And I’ve never yet had a problem with (re)activation but I know for sure that one day it is bound to happen because if it can go wrong it will go wrong for sure.
So please Adobe, a simple 24/7 activation safety net for your loyal customers would be so much appreciated.
….and an update for both PS CS and PS CS2, to provide a short-term grace period of use when reactivation occurs is essential.
Yes but the 24/7 could be implemented without any modifications to the program whatsoever so this would be a really simple interim solution.
maybe microsoft will buy out adobe and then we can all get some sleep. 😉
Seeing as there is already appears to be a cracked version of CS2 out there [which is quite ridiculously fast – how long has PS CS2 been out? If the activation is that good how come it’s already cracked?], wouldn’t it be possible to crack your legitimate version of PS so you don’t get these problems?
These talks of PS locking you out till you can reactivate on Monday is worrying. My career is changing and a laptop is on the cards as is working away from an office and probably working really unusual hours – like at weekends. I am very hesitant to rely on something that may let me down so catastrophically. Also in the UK do we have to ring the States to activate? Because that may mean Monday afternoon before PS is up and running. I can pay my credit card or telephone bill over the phone without speaking to a human, why can’t Adobe do that if they are too stingy to even use a call centre in India to deal with their enquiries [in the UK, one is surprised to hear a British accent when phoning ‘customer services’].
maybe microsoft will buy out adobe and then we can all get some sleep
And they might even give Daryl his buttons back.
Also in the UK do we have to ring the States to activate?
No.
in the UK, one is surprised to hear a British accent when phoning ‘customer services’
The UK is part of Europe now (unless UKIP come up with a surprise tomorrow) so it is not surprising to be greeted in French (or is it?).
wouldn’t it be possible to crack your legitimate version of PS so you don’t get these problems?
yes of course it would. the problem though is legitimate users seem to have a "thing" about illegal cracks. just funny that way, i guess. 🙂
the point is they shouldn’t have to.
You’re right, they shouldn’t have to. But it should be noted if a crack is applied, that version immediately becomes illegal due to a violation of EULA.
Bob
If I go anywhere with my laptop and PS CS, you can bet I’ll keep a copy of the crack available for use if anything happens where reactivation is prompted for any reasy and I don’t have a means available to reactivate. Unfortunately, I don’t see a vacation on the horizon anytime soon where such an issue even concerns me. 🙁
Illegal or not, if Adobe won’t provide some reasonable solution, then the legitimate customer is left to do what they can to ensure their product works as it should when they need it.
FWIW, the only argument I’m buying here is that there absolutely needs to be 24/7 human support available.
Bob
the only argument I’m buying here is that there absolutely needs to be 24/7 human support available.
amen brudda.
Is this really just a matter of the EULA?
In the face of flaky activation/re-activation schemes, I look at the EULA not so much as an agreement (where the "A" comes from), but as a set of demands from Adobe. It speaks of what the customer promises to do, but doesn’t mention certain promises from Adobe.
Is this to say that we should avoid purchasing Adobe products until they update their EULA to mention that Adobe will set up a system (activation/re-activation grace period, 24/7 phone support) so that a legit user is never without the ability to use the program?
If it’s just a matter of the EULA, let’s just wait till it’s less one-sided.
The 30 day grace period seems like a good idea but
I guess the only problem could be if the activation goes wrong then what guarantee have you that the 30 days would apply there are instances where the 30 trial times out early and I dont think it is always a case of the users changing the system clock in an attempt to get extra time.
I dont know if anyone has tried a system restore to see if that still triggers a reactivation request (I dont feel brave enough to experiment just now 🙂 ) surely that was an indication that Adobes activation method was broken from the beginning. No other activated software I have requires that.
As it appears that activation is not stopping cracked versions of the software appearing within weeks (days?) of release why not just drop it and free the support staff up to help on genuine problems.
I think it is now more to do with whichever senior execs within Adobe put the idea forward saving face.
If Microsoft (everybodys favourite blame hound) can get it right why not Adobe?
I think it is now more to do with whichever senior execs within Adobe put the idea forward saving face.
I’ve said that before and still believe it now.
dave
Strangely I had to do a system restore on my laptop about two weeks ago and I did not have to reactivate CS. I always had to reactivate before but I’ve not done a restore for about a year.
Also I used Norton Ghost to restore a partition with CS a few weeks ago on my desktop and it didn’t need reactivation. Again this always required reactivation before as I don’t use the boot sector switches which reportedly prevented this. However, I had to do a second partition restore shortly after that and it did require reactivation then.
I’m not going to try it now though with CS2. Somebody else can be brave.
If you havent run PS CS1 since the restore point was created it doesnt trigger a reactivation.
OK. That was the case for the restore. I can’t remember if it was also the case for the partition.
"The UK is part of Europe now (unless UKIP come up with a surprise tomorrow) so it is not surprising to be greeted in French (or is it?)."
It’s not European accents one hears when dialling ‘customer services’ but Indian accents. A recent Natwest bank advert TV makes play of it, saying that one of their improvements is to use British people answering their phones!
Usually if a company is so cheap that it uses employees in another continent to answer their phones, it is reflected in their appalling standards of customer service. I don’t care what nationality someone who answers the phone is, but when one has spent literally days at a time speaking to script monkeys who have no authority to actually help, it is infuriating to say the least. The lack of help not their nationality BTW.
That you have to spend 10 hours on the phone before getting transferred back to the UK where someone actually has any authority is a pain esp. when you have to ring back and go through same palaver the next day.
Actually I did hear English with a French accent the other day ringing customer services, but it was a French company, with a HQ in Paris.
I seem to vague recall that an EULA was contested in court recently and the software company lost.
Bob,
In saying you agree 24/7 support should be provided for activation/reactivation issues, do you not also agree that a short-term grace period should be provided for reactivation? If not, why?
Thanks,
Daryl
If one bought a copy of any software, but used a crack to stop said software misbehaving in a way that prevented one from being able to use the programme they spent [a lot of] money on, surely that’s not something Adobe or anyone else is actually going to be foolish enough to take someone to court for. One shouldn’t have to use a crack, but if that is what prevents activation issues and loss of income, people will probably do it. Using cracked software is different, but I wonder how many people who buy/upgrade PS now originally learnt on dodgy versions.
I wonder what the legal stance is when a photographer misses a deadline, for say a £100,000 location shoot, because PS stopped working and the going to press deadline was Monday morning.
Mind you, if you are being paid that much you probably have more than one laptop!
Most warranties have disclaimers that state the company is responsible for the cost of their product only, and not for the loss of income, cost of returning to the site of the shoot, etc.
tryoyhawk is probably correct in stating that Adobe or anyone else would probably not take folk to court for using a hack to keep their legit copy of CS working. It would IMHO be bad press. Then again, who would have thought Adobe’s business plan was to disrespect the customer in the first place by not responding to activation/re-activation complaints and correcting the flaky scheme?
What I haven’t heard in this forum yet though is if it’s possible to have Adobe reimburse folk for the cost of the hack 🙂
You’re right, they shouldn’t have to. But it should be noted if a crack is applied, that version immediately becomes illegal due to a violation of EULA.
The EULA is not law, and its authority is not binding unless it’s been tested–and line-item vetos are easily found by the courts. Adobe cannot write laws, and they cannot enforce unreasonable restrictions on legal users rights to use products.
They do seem to be more interested in trying to sell products to pirates than to sell them to honest customers–I know which would be the easier sale. That’s okay; everyone has different interests; I’m interested in being able to use things I pay for without the chance of some random software/hardware issue deciding I shouldn’t.
No new legit users will now begin the Photoshop upgrade path by first checking out a pirate copy, even though that’s how many old customers started. Remember, you can’t spell inspiration without pirate.
Well, inspirate, anyway.
Up for debate, Daryl. I’d say it should be one or the other.
Bob
I got an idea not original of course.
Why don’t Adobe just drop activation and then "lease or rent" Photoshop, you know on a yearly basis, for instance? And while they’re at it, let people choose what to rent:
PS 5
PS 6
PS 7
PS 8 (CS)
PS 9 (CS2)
PS 10 (CS-X)
I mean, what could be bad about it? Or is this a dumb idea, eheheh.
If you ask some of the people here, they’ll tell you that that’s just what they fear is coming.
Bob
Really, Bob? I like the idea of a pre-paid Photoshop, if that’s possible. Heck, phone companies been raking in millions in the pre-paid phone card business for so long now. Why not software manufacturers? Sorry, if this is off-topic already.
According to the Adobe service people that I have spoken with, the 30 day grace period only applies at time of installation. After that, the activation/reactivation is necessary immediately.
Paul
ben rr,
If you BUY a home its yours. No one can put you out.
If you RENT a home
Get it?
If they cant come up with a fair way to stop piracy, how can we trust them to rent to us? Oh, Im sorry sir but we have no record of your payment, therefore your service has been discontinued. However, you may reapply for service after paying the additional late fee and we will be more than happy to allow you to continue the use of Photoshop. Thank you and have a nice day.
Of course, Im taking this to the extreme; Or am I?
Of course, Im taking this to the extreme; Or am I?
if by extreme you mean right around the corner, then yes, you’re probably being extreme.
To all,
I want to make it clear to everyone that my two main complaints against REactivatin are that I dont like the idea that I have to connect to the internet in the first place. Past experiences, after hurricanes and NO phone service, showed me the problems with REactivation and no available phone line.
Second is that I can not use a safeguard program such as GO-Back which allows me to uninstall faulty programs or to retrieve lost files and so-forth. Go-Back is apart of Norton which I believe is a well respected company and I dont see why Photoshop cant work with it on my system.
Others may be able to add to reasons why REactivation is ridiculous, but these are my main reasons.
I really hate to criticize Photoshop because I love it so much, as do others that find REactivation so stupid.
ADOBE,
Sincerely, I thank you for the use of this forum. I know that we all make mistakes and I can only hope that you realize that REactivation is a major one.
Dave,
Am I correct to think that I should Read between the lines in your post? I always respect your opinion, no matter how off the wall it may be.
Peace,
Q
Dave,
By the way. I bet you are happy that now you can have BRIDGE (File Browser) separate from Photoshop, on your second monitor.
Just something that I remember from your past posts.
Q again
Am I correct to think that I should Read between the lines in your post?
nah. i usually post exactly what i mean. 😉
By the way. I bet you are happy that now you can have BRIDGE (File Browser) separate from Photoshop, on your second monitor.
yup. bridge rocks! (especially for a 1.0!) the only thing i’d like (and i’m waiting for a feature request section to go up) is for you to be able to set it to go to compact mode when opening a file.
right now, my workaround is to hold the alt key when opening, which minimizes to the task bar. close, but it’d rather have it still on the desktop, just smaller (compact mode).
so far (crossing fingers) i’ve had no problems at all with cs2. no reactivations, no slowdowns just a great upgrade.
but i feel real bad for those with activation hassles after what we went through with cs. apparently there’s still issues with something as simple as system restores! good gawd! i think that woulda been the FIRST thing they fixed. we were told it WAS going to be.
I really thought adobe would step up to the plate. The jury’s still out on if i was wrong or not. If there turns out to be a real problem, they have an obligation now after 2 iterations of activation (3 if you count the australia trial) to FIX THE PROBLEM RIGHT AND TO FIX IT RIGHT AWAY!
daryl’s idea of at least a 7 day grace period woulda gone a long way towards soothing ruffles since i can’t see them not being able to sort out an activation problem before it times out and locks out, but they’re still apparently immediately locking people out which is costing people who rely on PS a for real world living. If you really want to piss someone off, go ahead, Eff with their livelyhood… they’ll remember it for a long time.
remember visicalc.
Dave
An off-topic reaction to your answer about the Bridge.
You have 2 monitors right? If the Bridge is on Monitor 2, it can just stay there after opening a file in Photoshop on Monitor 1.
Dave
Just to add to what John said – here’s how I use Bridge:
<
http://www.beautyphoto.co.uk/proofs/dualscreen.jpg>
It’s sitting bottom right of screen 2, in compact mode but expanded to a useful size. I can quickly and easily open files directly from it and I’m only one click away from returning Bridge to full mode if needed.
I also use the new ‘roll-up’ PS window on screen 1 which allows me to keep notepad open for details of my customer’s order, retouching requirements etc.
The versatile way of laying out the workspace is, to me, worth the upgrade price alone.
Chris.
Q, "how can we trust them to rent to us?".
You can’t. Adobe’s been trusted to produce a program that no matter how great, will run properly for the legit user EVERY time they want to use it. That trust has been severely violated by their refusal to fix the flaky activation/re-activation scheme.
Apparently Adobe can’t hear the calls for re-activation modification over the sound of cash register bells. The solution to that is, of course, to hush the ringing.
Yep, CS rocks hard and heavy. But not matter how great your girl is, once you find she’s run around on you, tortured your dog, and beat up your mother, you have to draw the line and not trust her EVER AGAIN!
You have 2 monitors right? If the Bridge is on Monitor 2, it can just stay there after opening a file in Photoshop on Monitor 1.
yes, but i also have all my tools and palettes over there. i’d like brige to go ultra compact when i open a file so my palettes and tools aren’t covered by it. i find the thumbnail size adjust slider to be a really cool feature too!
over the sound of cash register bells.
nah. it’s the sound of a stock ticker that has ’em mesmerized. the cash register bells are an afterthought. the real $$$’s in stocks, not products after all! 🙂
it’s the sound of a stock ticker that has ’em mesmerized. the cash register bells are an afterthought.
And they do LOOOOVE huge corporate contracts. Those little onesie-twosie retail sales are just a nuisance, something they have to tolerate.
You can trust that Adobe will want the revenue stream. Renting guarantees that. At least MS got that right, that ‘renting’ was good for corporations. It simplified the update process for multiple seats, but as for the home user, it really doesn’t make sense. MS knows they will go pirate and the ‘rent/corporate’ seats is where they build the crackz.
You can downplay MS all you want, but at least they understand the market.
You can downplay MS all you want, but at least they understand the market.
I’d rather poo-poo them.
I prefer that MS inform Adobe how to go about Activation. And that Adobe would listen.
yes, but i also have all my tools and palettes over there
Dave did you look at the twin monitor workspace in my earlier post?
Chris.
musta missed it. rather i saw it but missed the implications. nice. i’ll have to try something like that… gimmie a few and i’ll post how i use mine. i like the thumbs a little bigger.
O/T Is that you in the picture, Dave?
O/T again…My guess would be the one that forgot to shave that morning. 🙂
It’s kinda nice to see what the folk here look like in r/l. I have thoughts as to what the regulars look like, but it’s nice to put a real face to their posts. They usually are not at all what I had imagined.
It might be nice if this forum automatically allowed a thumbnail in everyone’s signature as other sites have done. Of course, I don’t think anyone would care to see my mug very early in the morning.
yea, that’s me. that’s a daddy beard, to help the little guy distinguish my features. i’ll shave it off soon, but for now he likes playing with it. 🙂
